


Mala Fide (In bad faith)

by Scyllaya



Series: Numinous [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 05:50:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scyllaya/pseuds/Scyllaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to Sum quod sum.  Dean and Gabriel investigate the case of the missing children in La Crosse, Kansas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Part One

 

One week earlier…  La Crosse, Kansas.

xxx

‘So three missing kids; two boys and a girl, same age, they don’t live near, but all disappeared the same night… and I’m saying things you already know I presume,’ Dean finished as he looked over the table at Gabriel. The archangel looked at him.

‘It’s really driving you crazy, huh?’ he asked. Dean rolled his eyes.

‘I’m not used to you going all angelic and mysterious on me,’ the hunter said, they looked at each other for a few seconds. ‘Fine, I shut up,’ Dean grumbled. ‘But those kids are still missing, so if there’s a chance to save them you really should tell me what you know now.’

‘If I’m right, the children are completely un-harmed, so don’t worry about them,’ Gabriel told him.

‘Okay,’ nodded Dean. ‘Should I question the parents or is that totally pointless?’ he asked then.

‘Not pointless, I can’t do anything until nightfall; any new information could be useful until then.’

‘You’re seriously freaking me out with this,’ Dean told him. Gabriel sighed.

‘I asked you to trust me, you said you would. How about you actually do so?’ he asked pointedly.  Dean frowned.

‘Okay, don’t get your wings in a bunch,’ Dean said. ‘You being this snappy just makes me worried, y’know,’ he added after a beat of silence.

‘I get that,’ Gabriel said.

‘And you’re really asking for some big leap of faith here, man,’ the hunter continued while he finally pushed his notebook aside to lean on the table. Gabriel looked at him again.

‘Tell me if you don’t have that kind of faith in me and I find another way,’ he told him.

‘Okay and now I feel like a jerk,’ Dean admitted. ‘And like you’re testing me,’ the archangel smiled, then shrugged.

‘I’m not. I can’t force you to trust me, so if you can’t then that is it, but stop driving yourself crazy about it; I won’t be offended or angry if you can’t trust me this much yet.’

Dean took a deep breath.

‘I think I’m just gonna stop acting like a delicate flower and suck it up instead,’ he said as a conclusion.

‘That’s good,’ laughed Gabriel.

‘You coming with me to question the parents?’ he asked the archangel after that while he stood up.

‘I have some other things to take care of,’ was the answer he got. Dean stayed silent for a few seconds.

‘Okay,’ he agreed then, it was just way too obvious that it was hard for him to agree without asking further questions. He really wanted to complain about all the secrecy and this whole case, because he had no idea what was really going on. But he shut his mouth, he promised he would, and he intended to keep that promise.

He started to get undressed to change into his suit, but he was turned around a few moments later. He didn’t have time to react as Gabriel was kissing him deeply, holding him in place with his hands on his hips. Dean sneaked his hand to the back of Gabriel’s neck and pulled himself closer to the archangel’s body.

He was almost out of breath when Gabriel let go of his lips.

‘Thank you,’ the angel said before Dean could ask. And suddenly it didn’t seem that hard to keep his promise after all. ‘I’ll see you in a few hours.’ Dean nodded. He got one last small kiss on the lips before Gabriel vanished from the motel room.

xxx

The single mom of one of the missing boys was such an unbearable bitch that Dean had the urge to strangle her only after ten minutes, he didn’t do it of course but it was a close call. The house the little girl vanished from could’ve been called a mansion and everything inside was so posh and expensive that Dean felt like in a museum. They were pleasant enough, but they still almost freaked him out, he seriously expected a butler to appear any second, but luckily it didn’t happen. The third couple was the most normal, the mother was a mess, sobbing and completely devastated, but the father seemed resigned, like he knew he won’t even see his son again.

Normally Dean wouldn’t have been that distrustful of any of the parents, but the fact that Gabriel was acting weird about the case put Dean on edge and he found everything suspicious, especially the parents.

But that suspicious feeling he got from them was nothing compared to what went through his head when he and Gabriel were walking in the middle of nowhere when it finally got dark and the archangel returned.

‘You sure you just can’t zap us wherever we’re going?’ Dean asked after an hour of walking. ‘Because this is starting to feel like a really bad horror flick and I’m not eager to play that role.’

‘Really?’ Gabriel snapped at him. He took all of Dean’s complains during the day fairly easily, he probably reached his limit at this point. ‘I’m walking right here next to you, and you seriously think that anything in creation, anything at all could possibly lay a finger on you right now?’ He huffed in annoyance as he put his hands in his pocket. Dean had the urge to play his “I’m too cute, you can’t be angry at me” card, it really worked well on most of his high school girls, wasn’t sure what effect it would have on the archangel though.

He promised to be trustful, but after the weird parents, no sign of supernatural presence only that the kids disappeared from behind locked doors and windows, and Gabriel’s silence he really was alarmed and it put him in the bitching, offensive mood. Now that he thought about it Gabriel tolerated his attitude more than well, he was usually easier to piss off. Dean stopped and turned back towards the angel and grabbed his arm. Gabriel had that look on his face that told the hunter that he expected Dean to explode in his face any minute and he was not looking forward to it.

‘You know what?’ Dean said finally suddenly being very annoyed with himself. ‘Just ignore me, I’m being stupid,’ he said as he let go of Gabriel’s arm after a light squeeze.

‘You’re just cautious,’ Gabriel said. ‘I would’ve been surprised if you acted any different.’

‘I would be much more pissed at me if I were you,’ Dean told him half-jokingly. Gabriel shrugged.

‘You’re trying, that’s enough,’ he said. ‘It’s more than I usually expect or get for that matter.’

‘What?’ Dean stopped him with a hand on his shoulder as he started walking again.

‘You were there when Kali stabbed me in the heart, right? And that she didn’t manage to kill me despite her best efforts was because I expected her to try it. So yeah, I get trust issues,’ he shrugged again. ‘Does it annoy me that you’ve been whining like a little girl in the past hour? Yes, it really-really does. But I know where you’re coming from and believe me when I say that just the fact that you’re making an effort here is more than enough, it’s pretty awesome actually,’ he added with a smile.

‘I was not whining,’ Dean told him.

‘Of course not, big boy,’ Gabriel smirked as he patted Dean on the ass before he started walking again. Dean rolled his eyes, but chuckled.

‘Can you at least tell me wh--’ movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye and it stopped him abruptly. The movement was in the tall grass, but he couldn’t actually see what it was. ‘You saw that?’ he asked.

‘What was it?’ asked Gabriel. And Dean was sure that it was nothing, because the archangel definitely would’ve noticed if anything supernatural would’ve been near.

‘I don’t know,’ Dean told him. ‘Probably just some--’ it was there again. A quick shift in the grass as something dark moved, but it wasn’t too big. ‘Animal’ he finished. He was about to turn his eyes away from where he was scanning the ground, when a small dark head peaked out from between the grass. Dean first noticed the glowing eyes and he almost reached for his gun, but then recognized the form, he was not sure whether he needed a gun or not. He thought it might be a stray dog first, but then he realized that it was a fox, a black fox staring at him. Its eyes glowing in the faint moonlight were fixed on the hunter.

‘Shit,’ Dean breathed out. ‘The little fucker almost scared the crap out of me,’ he said. Gabriel shifted his gaze to where Dean was looking.

‘What is it?’ he asked then and it made Dean frown.

‘What do you mean, what is it? It’s a fox? You can’t see the freakin’ fox?’ because Gabriel must’ve been screwing with him. It surprised him when Gabriel smiled in a very satisfying manner.

‘Nope,’ he said and Dean looked back at the animal still looking at him.

‘How is that possible? It’s not real? You’re a freakin’ archangel how could you not see something I can… am I going crazy here?’ he asked finally. Gabriel shook his head.

‘I can’t see it because I’m not a human,’ he told Dean. ‘And it’s your invitation.’

‘An invitation to what?’ Dean asked and he recognized Gabriel’s expression before the angel had a chance to speak. ‘You still can’t fucking tell me? Seriously?’ he asked and now he was really annoyed.

‘Let’s just get going,’ Gabriel told him.

‘Where?’ Dean asked, and then he looked at the fox again. ‘The fox? We’re following a fox? You have got to be shitting me!’ Gabriel’s amused smile was all the answer he needed. ‘You’re not shitting me.’ He took a calming breath. ‘You so owe me for this,’ he grumbled before he took a step forward towards the black fox and sure enough the little thing turned around and started going somewhere, so Dean followed while Gabriel chuckled behind him.

xxx

It was almost hard to follow the little dark shape in the night and Dean felt utterly ridiculous about it, but Gabriel was following him and it seemed important.

He was following a fox in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere with an archangel on his heels. It was way beyond bizarre, but he stopped asking questions he just tried to keep his eyes on the little furry bastard that almost disappeared from his sight a few times.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed like this and how long they walked, but suddenly the fox picked up speed and then suddenly was gone. Dean tried finding it with his eyes again, but it was gone. He just stopped then.

‘The fuck?’ he frowned. ‘It’s gone… what are we gonna do now?’ He started to turn to the archangel, but he flinched as suddenly it was light all around. He had to close his eyes for a second and when he opened his eyes again they were in a giant ring of blue-dark fire. His body got tense and he got ready for a fight as the fire crackled around them. He looked at Gabriel, but the archangel seemed calmed.

‘What’s going on?’ Dean asked. Gabriel swiftly looked around.

‘Just follow my lead,’ he said in a quiet voice after a second. Dean just frowned and was about to open his mouth again, but laughter hit his ears from behind. He swiftly turned around just in time to see as the blue flames died down and a guy in a dark overcoat was walking towards them. He wore a wide brimmed black hat, so Dean only saw his wide grin as he was walking towards them.

Dean didn’t actually want to let the guy walk closer, but Gabriel was right next to him a second later, almost a bit in front of him and he seemed relaxed.

‘Loki!’ the dark man exclaimed when he was a step away and to Dean’s utter surprise he wrapped his arms around the archangel in a crushing hug. Gabriel didn’t draw away and the hunter heard him laugh lightly as he returned the gesture to the stranger.

‘I thought you were dead you old trickster,’ the man laughed when he let go of Gabriel, he clapped his hand down on the angel’s shoulder, while he shook his head. Then he put his hand on Gabriel’s cheek in what seemed like a familiar gesture. ‘What did I tell you about meddling with those bloody wargods you foolish kid?’ he asked and his voice dropped a little quieter and had a gentle tone in it that Dean certainly didn’t expect. The dark man dropped his hand then. ‘Now tell me what brings you here where no bird dares to fly?’ he asked. ‘I hope you bring no trouble to my doors.’

‘No trouble Urdung,’ Gabriel said reassuringly, and then Dean suddenly found himself being looked at by the stranger. Black eyes locked on his face, such a dark color that it almost looked like a demon’s eyes.

‘And who’s this?’ he asked. ‘He found his way and led you here.’

‘A trusted friend,’ Gabriel said before Dean could say anything, he probably wouldn’t have been able to give a good answer anyway. The dark man once again burst into loud laughter.

‘Trusted?’ he asked. ‘I’ve known you for over six centuries Loki, but not once did I hear that word roll off your silver tongue. Either you changed greatly in the last decades… or the boy must be someone rather exceptional,’ he finished while he locked his dark eyes on Dean again.

‘Is this anywhere the place where we should be discussing all this?’ Gabriel asked him and the stranger turned back towards him with a chuckle.

‘Well, look at me, the excitement is making me quite foolish and definitely a bad host. Forgive me my dear friend. Come then, my daughters will be so happy to see you, I swear I’ve never seen them shed so many tears before like when the word of your death reached us.’

‘I came as soon as I could,’ Gabriel told him. ‘And it’s not like it’s so easy to find you.’

‘That is certainly true, but really, come now,’ he turned around, his dark coat flapping around him like a cape, he grabbed his hat as to keep it in place and he started walking.

‘Uhh… Loki,’ Dean tried; it was strange to say the name. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked. Gabriel just smiled at him before grabbing his jacket-sleeve to drag Dean forward following the dark man.

‘Now Dean, welcome to the Traveler’s,’ the archangel said, again there was no time for Dean to ask questions. He saw how thick fog wrapped around them everything fading away immediately while Dean could only see what was up ahead. The darkness was split apart by light and warmth filtering through from somewhere unknown and first the dark man stepped away swiftly disappearing from their sight. And then Gabriel wrapped his hand around Dean’s wrist and pulled him, the next second he felt and saw as the cold night air and the darkness completely disappeared from around them in a blink of an eye.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

Dean found himself in a warm place, sun shining so brightly that he had to close his eyes for a bit and even after it took him a few seconds to adjust to the brilliance. When he looked around they were walking in soft grass, a light breeze carrying the scent of water and he could almost hear the water flowing from somewhere far, but mostly it was just the sound of the wind catching the leaves in the tree crowns. On every side, tall grey-white stone walls towered and if anything everything looked like he was in the garden of a medieval fortress.

The grass turned into a stony path but Dean only noticed it later as he was taking in his surrounding and he probably would’ve stopped to just look around for a few seconds if Gabriel wasn’t dragging him along.

‘Where are we?’ he asked.

‘In-between,’ Gabriel said.

‘If you keep being cryptic for one more second I swear I’m gonna find a way to punch you without breaking my hand,’ Dean grumbled, but he only managed to get a chuckle out of Gabriel. It was really disappointing that he couldn’t actually threaten Gabriel in any way. He was an archangel, so he couldn’t just punch him or anything and they both knew that he wouldn’t actually use any weapon that could really harm him. He could always try the classic chick-move, which of course made him feel like one, but he really sucked at the withholding sex thing. First he liked having sex all too much and secondly, Gabriel could shatter his resolve in the matter in two seconds flat, the bastard was way too good at what he was doing.

‘It’s a place that is not in the human world, but it’s still not a completely different reality. It’s a place in-between two places,’ the archangel answered. ‘Cool, huh?’ He looked back over his shoulder. ‘Think of it like an unused space, like a small alley between two skyscrapers.’ he simplified it.

They reached an enormous wooden door at the end of the stony pathway and the Traveler pushed it open with an easy movement.

‘We have guests,’ he announced to the completely empty entry hall. A few seconds later a woman in her mid-forties appeared from one of the doors, he eyes widened at the sight.

‘Loki!’ she called. ‘It’s Loki!’ she turned back in the door. Gabriel let go of Dean’s wrist as they walked inside and the next minutes were so hasty that Dean absolutely lost track of things. People appeared after the woman exclaimed their arrival. The fist wave was mostly women and girls, but then Dean started to notice men appear from up the stairs and side-doors.

The first woman seemed to have been the oldest among them all, and Dean counted nine women in grand total. Dean started to suspect that they were the so-called “daughters” of the stranger. He almost lost sight of Gabriel as he was ran down and hugged and encircled among them. The guys, there were five of them, none of them seemed older than Dean himself, one was definitely just a teen, didn’t get that enthusiastic, but there were cheerful greetings and friendly shoulder pats. When the younger women started crying Dean seriously just wanted to get the hell out, he didn’t like seeing women cry, even if it was tears of joy mostly in this case. As the whole riot started to calm down it was only two of the younger girls, they looked around 15 to Dean, who just didn’t stop sobbing, one of them encircled her arms around Gabriel’s neck and the other was clinging to his jacket, her face buried in his chest. Dean saw that Gabriel was talking to them in a quiet tone and they nodded and cried, but it finally took some of the older women to pry them off of Gabriel.

‘Now children,’ the Traveler spoke up after that. ‘Let Loki breathe for a second, I’m sure he will have time to spend with us,’ he said. He took his hat off, which revealed short black curly hair. His eyes didn’t seem like that of a demon’s now in the bright light, but it was a very deep sparkling black color that was almost unnerving for Dean to look at and he was used to intense stares.

He started walking towards the stairs at the end of the hall and Gabriel once again turned to Dean.

‘C’mon,’ he gestured with his head. Dean still had no idea what everything was about, but he sure as hell would get everything out of the archangel as soon as they were alone.

‘Who’s this?’ asked one of the women; they obviously just noticed he was there of course.

‘He seems cute,’ he heard one of the others say.

‘Hands off ladies,’ Gabriel said in a positively playful tone. 'I'm not sharing.' He started walking after the Traveler and Dean followed. They were almost at the top of the stairs when the dark man spoke again.

'Despite being happy seeing you alive and well Loki, I do wonder what your explanation is about why I have a hunter in my house.'

'I would not bring someone here who would be a threat to any of you,' Gabriel answered.

'Good, I'd hate it if our friendship got jeopardized.'

'How d'you know I was a hunter?' Dean asked. The Traveler chuckled.

'Oh I'm really good at spotting your kind, boy,' he told him. He opened a wooden door and stepped in. Gabriel and Dean followed. It was some sort of a library as it turned out as there were books and scrolls all over the tall shelves. The traveler sat down onto an armchair, Gabriel dropped himself down onto the couch so Dean sat next to him.

'So, what brings you here, Loki?' he asked. 'And please enlighten me about your companion's presence.'

'He's here because of the children,' the archangel replied.

'The children?' the man asked in return.

'The kids that went missing in town, that's the case I followed and was working on before... Loki got us here,' Dean said. The Traveler shared a look with Gabriel that Dean couldn't understand. Then the man started laughing quietly.

'Oh, this will be utterly delightful,' he said while he shook his head. He looked at Gabriel one more time before shifting his dark gaze on Dean. 'I congratulate you young hunter,' he told him, then smiled. 'I am your case.'

'What do you mean that “your my case”?' Dean asked with a frown.

'That the children are here, I took them,' the man answered. Dean snapped his attention at Gabriel as for confirmation, which he got as the angel nodded at him. The hunter couldn't believe his ears; he looked back at the Traveler with narrowed eyes.

'Why?' he asked. 'What did you do to them or planning to do?' Normally he would have a gun out by now, or a stake or a knife, but Gabriel was sitting calmly by his side. And the archangel was not a hunter and the guy was obviously his friend, but he would not take Dean to some nasty monster’s house.

'Raise them with care, cherish them, love and teach them like a good father does,' he answered calmly.

'What?' he was confused now.

'They're my children, I just brought them home to their real family.'

'Their parents are back in the town, looking for them,' Dean said.

'Their so-called parents gave them to me,' was the answer he got. 'They had wishes, they asked for things and I fulfilled them, I merely took what was promised to me as an exchange.'

'We're talking deals,' Dean said as he got it as an unpleasant feeling was overwhelming him. He wasn't sure who he was starting to get angry at yet.

'Dean, calm down and listen,' Gabriel told him. Dean looked at him.

'What the hell you mean I should calm down, your buddy just told me that he deals with humans for their kids. Why the hell would you take them?' he looked back at the man.

'I told you, they are my children. They were promised to me long before they were born.'

'Oh so that should make it OK?' he asked. 'Kidnapping kids from their families, just because some desperate human makes a stupid decision?' His mother's image popped into his head as she sealed a deal with a demon for John Winchester's life.

'I can assure you that they were not desperate,' the Traveler told easily. 'I'm no demon boy, do not treat me like one.' His voice was still calm and Dean wasn't sure whether he was threatened or not. 'They summoned me and I merely agreed to what they have decided on their own free will and I explained my terms very clearly.' He locked his black eyes on Dean, looking searchingly at him. 'Who are you really angry at?' he asked then. 'Me? Or the humans who were so willing to sell their own blood, their unborn children for wealth, success and beauty, because those were the things they asked for.'

'He's telling the truth,' Gabriel spoke.

'But it's... they're still their families!' Dean argued. 'The kids belong with them.'

'Why?' the Traveler asked in return. 'Family is no right boy, but a privilege. They gave up that, they threw it away carelessly, sold their blood out like a piece of property. You really think that a parent capable of such thing is what a child deserves?'

'Well...' he couldn't say anything to that even if he was not yet ready to admit that.

'And you met my other children just now, do they seem like they hate me as their father or that they do not love this family?'

'Everyone?' he asked. 'They are all kids you took?'

'Yes, all of them,' the Traveler nodded. Dean frowned and let the whole thing sink in first, digesting the news.

‘You want to see my youngest to see with your own eyes that they’re fine?’ the Traveler asked.

‘Yeah, sure,’ Dean nodded; he felt it like he was in a daze. He thought that there ought to be something else he could say to prove that the parents deserved to have their kids back but he didn’t find the words. He followed the Traveler and Gabriel down the hall deep in thought. He was mildly aware of Gabriel saying sorry for all the trouble and how the Traveler just waved his hand dismissively saying he understood. Dean was still just trying to figure out what he should say to make a valid point. He met the parents, they were not downright lovely people, but that didn’t mean they weren’t good parents, but then again if what the Traveler said was true, and Gabriel confirmed that it was, then they willingly sold their kids, which was just plain wrong in Dean’s opinion. At least when making a demon deal, you were dealing with yourself, gave away something that belonged to you, sealed your own fate, well in most cases anyway. This was an entirely different matter.

‘There they are,’ the Traveler said and it snapped Dean out of his thoughts. Both Gabriel and the man were standing at a large window so Dean stepped closer too. He saw a different inner garden outside and he recognized the missing children from their photos right away, they were with some of the older “children”, running around, giggling and laughing. There were balls and other toys scattered around on the green grass and it took Dean a second to notice the little black fox kits running around in the grass, it’s were the things the kids were chasing around.

‘What’s up with the foxes?’ he asked. Both Gabriel and the Traveler chuckled at that.

‘That’s Urdung’s familiar,’ Gabriel said. ‘You did notice that he’s a god at this point, right?’

‘Yeah, I got that one,’ Dean answered. ‘Never heard of you though.’

‘I’m not surprised by that, humans tend to remember gods who demand to be worshipped, and tricksters are rarely among those.’ Dean took a halt and stared at the god after that.

‘You’re a trickster?’ he asked in surprise.

‘I am many things, boy. But yes I can be considered one.’ He stepped away from the window and started to walk down the corridor again, Dean followed and Gabriel walked beside him.

‘Simply calling you a trickster does not do you justice Urdung,’ Gabriel told him. ‘He’s actually a creator god,’ he turned to Dean. ‘I told you this is the place in-between, this is Urdung’s realm, his world.’

‘You mean he’s the God of this world, like… the Big Guy back in our world?’ Dean asked.

‘Oh, please do not compare me to Him,’ Urdung said looking back over his shoulder. ‘It’s something both of us might be offended by.’ Gabriel laughed at the remark.

‘They’re different in many ways,’ Gabriel continued. ‘But mainly by that he’s not a god of the human world, not exactly; he just passes by once in a while. He’s the Traveler because he has a door to every possible realm that’s out there and all can be reached from here.’

‘Huh,’ was all Dean could add as a reaction.

‘The kids have been here for a little while now,’ Gabriel spoke again, but this time he was clearly talking to the god. ‘Anyone else visit already or am I the first one?’ he asked.

‘Oh no, some were quicker. Coyote and Raven arrived first, as always I might add, but Anansi reached me too. Then there was Tanuki and of course Set, and now you. I still expect Heyoka, Nanabozho, Eris and Crow to show up soon, they always do.’

Dean was running the names around his head quickly and he definitely heard one or two already in the past, but it took him a few moments to realize why he heard those names before.

‘Tricksters… those are all tricksters,’ he said finally.

‘It’s a thing… whenever Urdung has new children we drop by, it started as a casual thing, but now it really grew out to be a mandatory social thing,’ he chuckled at the end.

‘It’s an optional visit I can assure you,’ Urgung replied.

‘Yeah I remember all your kids sulking for years when Tanuki didn’t show up one time, I think the only reason why they forgave him was that the reason he didn’t came was actually that he was captured and bound by a witch.’ It was Urdung’s turn to laugh.

They reached the library again and this time the Traveler offered drinks, Gabriel accepted, Dean declined.

‘I still can’t help but wondering Loki if that was all of your reasons to search me out,’ he said after he sat back in his chair.

‘No, if I want to be honest,’ Gabriel replied. ‘There’s a third reason. Many things happened in the past two years and it made me realize that I owe you the truth.’

Urdung leveled the archangel with a stare. ‘The truth?’ he asked. Dean was looking at Gabriel too and he wasn’t sure whether he meant what Dean thought he did.

‘About me,’ the angel said and that made it quite obvious and Dean couldn’t help but remember how the last pagan gods reacted upon figuring out the truth, so he just hope Gabriel knew how to get out of this place or plane or realm quickly if they had to.

‘I am not one of the gods of Earth, or any god for that matter. I’m not a trickster or a pagan, it was just something I pretended to be to hide from my family,’ Gabriel continued and Dean got quite tense as the words left the archangel’s mouth, he wasn’t sure if the angel was anxious or not, but he certainly didn’t show it. ‘My name is Gabriel,’ he finally said and he looked the dark god in the eye. Urdung was regarding him with an unreadable expression.

‘The Archangel Gabriel,’ he said after a long pause and the angel nodded. ‘Well, that certainly explains a few things,’ Urdung added, like this was the last piece of a puzzle and now that it clicked into place everything was clear to him.

‘That’s… all?’ Gabriel asked.

‘Where you expecting something else?’ Urdung asked.

‘Yeah well, Kali stabbed me in the hearth while the others watched so, yeah I expected a little more indignation,’ Gabriel admitted, which made the Traveler laugh again.

‘That’s the exact reason why I told you not to meddle with those kinds, bloodthirsty, jealous, and very prideful beings, all of them. But that pretty thing got your head so twisted around on your neck that it was almost falling off,’ he said with a meaningful eyebrow-raise.

‘I learnt that lesson, trust me,’ Gabriel told him with a chuckle. ‘But really? Nothing’s changed?’ he asked then.

‘I have offered you my friendship and you did not betray that, you’ve never done any harm to me or mine. And if I would be offended every time one of the tricksters manages to trick me I would be constantly angry. So I will just tell you this: you fooled all gods and Spirits, leading us ashtray for centuries, angel or not, you are a trickster my friend, a damn fine one.’ He raised his glass and emptied it. Gabriel did the same with a smile.

‘I’m really glad that you say that Urdung,’ Gabriel said.

‘Yes, well I still hope you will feel glad after I tell you that I’m not going to be the one telling all my children this.’ Gabriel groaned and hung his head.

‘I should’ve brought some gifts… lot of gifts,’ the archangel said, then he turned to Dean. ‘You mind waiting a bit while I deal with all this?’ he asked.

‘Nope, go ahead,’ the hunter told him. Gabriel got off the couch and headed to the door closing it behind him.

There was a long silence after Gabriel’s departure and Dean started to feel that he should’ve gone with him.

‘I think Gabriel failed to introduce us properly,’ Urdung said after then.

‘Yeah, um… I’m Dean Winchester,’ he answered. ‘And I don’t think I can possibly pronounce your name properly,’ he added then.

‘Traveler is fine,’ the god answered. ‘Did we manage to put your mind at ease about the children?’ he asked.

‘I guess… it’s still weird, but… I get that you’re not the bad guy in this,’ the hunter told him.

‘I’m glad to hear that, I have not encountered many hunters that thought that.’

‘If I met you a few years ago I probably would’ve tried to kill you,’ Dean admitted. ‘I mean, I tried to kill Gabriel too, several times actually… when I thought he was only a trickster,’ the memory made him laugh, because it seemed like a completely different life now that he was looking back at it.

‘What changed?’ the god asked.

‘Too many things to count,’ Dean said. ‘But mainly me. Things used to be black and white, supernatural things are evil, it was simple as that, but damn… there is just… good and evil everywhere, humans and angels and now this? Some humans are willing to kill and torture for pleasure and then there are some vampires who try to hold onto their humanity, there was this rugaru guy, fighting against his nature and a hunter forced him to be a monster when he tried to kill his wife, and I met those parents now and here are you… and… I just don’t know where I stand anymore.’ He took a deep breath and then realized how easily he started talking. ‘Why am I telling you all this?’ he asked.

‘I have one of those faces,’ the Traveler told him with a shrug and a smile.

‘You don’t have any sort of mojo on me here, right?’ he still asked because it was not like him to speak his mind so easily to an almost stranger, to a freakin’ god.

‘I would not treat a guest in such a way I can assure you,’ he told him. ‘Humans tend to be able to share their thoughts with me quite easily; I really think that I just have one of those faces.’

Dean just looked at the guy and thought otherwise. It was not the face, but his whole presence, his gestures and posture, how he formed the words, how he looked at everyone. And suddenly he thought he knew why Gabriel liked the guy so much.

‘Some humans change very hardly, especially those who see what lurks in the darkness, what evil is out in your world, but I am quite glad to see that someone like you is willing to see everything for what it is rather than clinging to what was thought to you.’

‘Someone like me?’ he asked.

‘The humans who summon me usually do that because either they’re too afraid to summon a demon or they do not know about the crossroads, but those humans tend to have selfish or ill intentions, I treat them accordingly. You found me on your own.’

‘It was your… familiar… the black fox.’

‘This just proves that you’re a good man and you were driven by good intentions when traveling closer to my door. You were led by… faith,’ he said then. ‘You did not know who you were looking for since you didn’t know who I was, so you put your faith… in Gabriel, so that’s how he found me,’ the last was just an after thought, like he finally had the explanation to an unasked question.

‘I guess,’ Dean shrugged he had nothing to say to that.

‘This is a good thing, a worthy trait in a human I can appreciate. I’m glad you have found your way here, good fortune may bless your future travels when you leave from here,’ Urdung said finally.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

By the time Dean and Gabriel arrived back to Dean’s motel it was already morning, and the hunter was almost dead on his feet. Gabriel told him to sleep and that he will be there when he woke up, so Dean did just that.

He didn’t know how much he slept, but when he woke up he was fully rested, he was warm and he really didn’t want to get out from under the soft covers… he blinked his eyes open, because no cheap motel sheets and covers were this soft. It took him a second to take in the view and he was most definitely not in his motel room. He sat up abruptly. It was a pretty nice room. With a huge king-size bed he was currently laying in with deep green sheets, covers and pillows, dark wooden floors with rugs and all types of fur scattered around it. Red brick walls and dark-framed windows, but he didn’t see anything but the bright blue sky and clouds outside. He stood up and walked closer to one of the windows. He was only in his boxers, but the room was warm enough and ever the floor was comfortable to walk on even barefoot.

His jaw almost dropped when he looked outside. The reason why he didn’t see anything in the window was because it was too high up for anything to be seen. Now that he could look outside it was sharp cliffs and endless green mountains that he saw, clouds or fog was covering most of the view but Dean could still see that beyond the deep green color it was endless blue. He figured it might be the ocean, but he had no idea which one. He knew of course that only Gabriel could’ve been behind this.

He walked around the room and successfully found the bathroom, it was huge and had a steam-shower and even if he was tempted to take his time, he showered quickly. He walked to one of the windows as he was toweling his short hair once again trying to take in the view, it was still pretty mind-blowing. He was just standing and staring out when hands landed on his hips and lips brushed his back, kissing the middle of the sigil, he didn’t flinch because he knew the touch all too well.

‘We’re not in Kansas anymore,’ he said and it earned him a laugh from Gabriel, who put another kiss on him, this time the back of his neck. Dean tore away his eyes from the landscape and turned around.

‘Where are we? And why are we here?’ he asked.

‘On some island on the south pacific,’ Gabriel supplied. ‘It doesn’t actually have a name, because it’s too small and no one lives here.’ Dean frowned.

‘Okay, why are we in a desert island in the South Pacific?’ he asked again, he didn’t ask about the house, because he was talking to an archangel.

‘Because I wanted to come here,’ the archangel said. ‘Because there was no case back in town, and because I will barely see you when you catch up with Sam again.’

‘So you zapped us away?’ Dean asked.

‘I figure that normally it takes more than a day to finish up a case, so your brother won’t miss you if I kidnap you for a day or two,’ the angel said with a smirk and he tugged Dean closer, his hands still on Dean’s hip. The hunter went willingly and he enjoyed the way Gabriel put kisses on his neck while he thought about it. The case Sam and Bobby were working on wasn’t a big one and it was Bobby himself who sent Dean to La Crosse, and there was no case there, not really. But normally it would have taken at least a few days to close it, so he really had free time, and yes once he was on the road with his brother again Gabriel couldn’t be there all the time. He tilted his head back to give Gabriel more room and the archangel obviously approved as he mouthed at the soft skin, shifting his body even closer to the hunter’s.

‘Okay, I like this plan,’ he breathed. His morning wood didn’t even have time to disappear, especially as he was pressed close to Gabriel. The archangel was fully clothed; Dean started to think that he had a thing about wearing clothes while Dean was almost or completely naked. He lost both of the towel he held in his hand and the one wrapped around his waist pretty quickly so his dick pressed tightly into Gabriel’s jeans-clad hip, but he liked the friction nonetheless or maybe because of it. The angel found and pushed buttons on him he didn’t even know existed.

He suddenly there were hands on his ass as he was picked up easily.

‘Shit,’ he cursed as he gabbed a hold of the archangel. He really wanted to complain about the chick-treatment, but it didn’t just embarrass him but managed to turn him on instantly, the next second his back hit the mattress and the soft green sheets. Gabriel shrugged his jacket off and was unbuttoning his shirt so Dean sat up and ran his hands up Gabriel’s sides, digging his fingers in to muscles and skin he couldn’t feel just yet. Dean popped the button open on Gabriel’s jeans when the angel tossed his shirt aside. But then he stopped, just watching Dean, he liked being undressed, the hunter learnt that already. So Dean looked up at him with a knowing smile as he pulled the zipper down, he already felt that Gabriel was hard under the layers.

He pushed his fingers under the undershirt to urge Gabriel to take it off and after a moment Gabriel reached down to pull it over his head and toss it away. Dean couldn’t resist leaning forward and cover all the exposed skin in kisses and licks and small bites, while he stroked the angel’s back. Gabriel put a hand on his neck, his thumb stroking Dean’s jaw, then another hand come up to cover his cheek and Gabriel pulled him up while he leaned down to seal their lips together. It was deep and hungry; the angel devoured his mouth like he couldn’t get enough of it. Mapped his lips and stroked his tongue with his own and Dean moaned into it when he was pushed back onto the bed.

Gabriel kept kissing him for long moments it was a slow burn of arousal. Dean stroked the skin he could get his hands on.

‘Dean,’ Gabriel whispered to his lips. ‘There’s… something I…’

‘What is it?’ Dean asked, his skin was buzzing with want, but he frowned, it was not like Gabriel to interrupt anything like this to talk.

‘There’s something I’d like to do to you,’ Gabriel said and his eyes were darkened by lust, the way he looked down with that hungry look at Dean made the hunter shiver in anticipation.

‘Yeah, ok,’ Dean agreed as he tried to drag Gabriel back for another kiss, but the angel resisted.

‘You might want to know what this one is,’ the angel told him, Dean was pretty sure that it couldn’t be anything he would not like, him and Gabriel seemed to like the same things way too much. Gabriel was kneeling up again and pulled Dean into a sitting position as well.

‘Seriously, what?’ Dean asked impatiently. Gabriel looked at him for a seconds then he closed his eyes. The hunter wanted to ask him again what was going on, but then he felt a presence behind his back, he will deny the sound that escaped him and he would also swear that he did not jump on Gabriel in reaction. He turned around as much as he could and that’s when he really froze, because it was Gabriel, another Gabriel.

‘What the fuck’s going on?’ he asked and okay he probably had the right to be shocked as suddenly there was two of the one archangel.

‘It’s just me,’ the first Gabriel said. ‘I can make an exact copy of myself…’

‘Okay,’ Dean said slowly, he had his back to the first, original Gabriel, while the second was in front of him now.

‘When I do this,’ it was the copy Gabriel talking, he really was an exact duplicate, no detail was different from the original. ‘I need to divide my awareness.’

‘And I realized after some time,’ the first Gabriel continued as he slid up to Dean again, his hands coming up and stroking his sides and stomach in a soothing gesture. His lips were only a breath away from Dean’s ear. ‘That in order to be able to use all my powers on both sides of this awareness…’

‘I also have to be able to receive all sensations as well,’ said the copy Gabriel as he crawled a bit closer on the bed. Dean was only slightly tense, but it was quickly vanishing from him as both the touch from the original Gabriel was familiar and the sight of the other Gabriel getting closer to him was too.

‘So when I’m like this,’ Gabriel behind him continued. ‘I can both feel you pressed up to me…’ the other Gabriel was now also within touching distance and he leaned closer, putting a kiss on Dean’s neck and when the hunter didn’t object he started mouthing on his throat.

‘And I can feel this too,’ breathed the copy Gabriel into his skin and it was still the same familiar kisses and touches Dean knew well so he reacted. He closed his eyes for a second, but despite the touches being familiar it was still two sets of hands on his body and that was not something he was used to, well it being male hands anyway.

‘I stop if you don’t want this,’ said Gabriel to his ear, while the mouth mapping his throat and neck traveled further up to kiss just below his other ear, and the next whisper came from that side.

‘But I know that you would love it.’

Dean’s breathing was fastening again. Only the Gabriel sitting behind him was wearing his jeans, the other was completely naked like Dean. The hunter still had his eyes closed and the hands stroking his skin and the mouth tracing delicious lines in all the right places was affecting him, his dick never really had time to completely lose interest and now it was hardening again in rapid speed.

‘No one else could take you like I can,’ he heard a whisper again. ‘So let me, I want you so badly like this.’

Dean stifled a moan that wanted to escape his mouth at those words and he was already nodding without his mind really focusing. Then he was being kissed deeply and lips were on the back of his neck too. And it was Gabriel, both kisses were undoubtedly Gabriel, but Dean really couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

‘Stop over thinking it,’ said Gabriel in front of him after letting go of his lips, but he never moved back so his lips stayed only a whisper away.

‘Just relax and feel it,’ said the other angel. ‘Let go and enjoy the ride, no need to worry.’

‘It’s just me,’ the words were whispered into his ear and breathed onto his lips at the same time and Dean did what was asked, he stopped thinking to feel. He leaned forward to kiss Gabriel again and he was pulled forward for the kiss to deepen. A second later Gabriel from behind him was gone, but only for a short while, and when he slid closer to Dean again his chest pushed to Dean’s back the hunter felt that he left to get rid of the rest of his clothing.

He openly moaned as he was tightly embraced and pressed up between them. His face was turned and he was kissed this time form behind. Then Gabriel was inching down in front of him his mouth descending, mapping his chest and then taking a nipple in a mouth, biting down just as much as Dean liked it before moving down more. He leaned back on Gabriel’s chest as his breath was coming in short gasps as he knew what was coming, Gabriel always followed the same routine and now just the sheer anticipation had Dean on edge and crazy with arousal, just from the thought of the angel pleasuring him.

He was distracted from the mouth licking at his navel then moving towards his hipbone as lips descended on his neck again. Kissing then sucking on the skin where his shoulder met his neck and then biting down a little, he threw his head back and arched his spine at the sensation the next second lips wrapped around the head of his dick.

‘Oh fuck,’ he breathed, he reached back and put his arm around Gabriel’s neck, the one who was behind him. The other Gabriel took him in a bit deeper, tongue teasing the thick head and the slit already slick with pre-come, then sliding down more and sucking on the flesh. Gabriel didn’t keep his hips in place so when he bucked his hips forward a bit his cock easily just slid deeper in Gabriel’s mouth. He still had the other Gabriel’s chest to his back, but after a few moments passed he was moved a bit. He had to lean on Gabriel’s shoulder in front of him, but he didn’t need to think why he was re-positioned, when he felt Gabriel’s hand slide down on his spine right until reaching his hole.

Dean took a sharp breath and he was in no way objecting, Gabriel read his body-language perfectly, but teased the tight ring of muscle with a slick finger instead of pushing in right away like the human wanted him to.

‘C’mon,’ Dean panted, but this was when Gabriel in front of him, still enthusiastically sucking him, got a hold of the base of his dick and gave a few strokes. ‘Oh fuck yeah,’ Dean groaned and then one finger finally slid inside of him, he immediately pushed back onto it eagerly.

‘Easy there, big boy,’ Gabriel chuckled behind him. ‘We have a long day ahead of us; don’t want to wear you out right in the first round.’

His voice was teasing, but his breathing was ragged, he was not unaffected by Dean’s reactions, not by a long shot.

Dean was writhing in-between pushing his hips forward, his dick sliding in and out of Gabriel’s mouth, while he also tried to push back forcing the slick finger deeper inside. The archangel soon gave him more, pushing in a second slick finger. Dean enjoyed the stretch of muscles, the feeling of being spread open like this. Gabriel in front of him took him in completely the moment the other pressed his fingers down onto the hyper-sensitive bundle of nerves within Dean’s body. Dean grabbed hold of both of them, where he could reach, but he didn’t pay attention to where and how he was reaching out, he just let the wave of pleasure wash over him.

‘Oh fuck… more!’ he moaned loudly and Gabriel pushed down onto his prostate again as a reply. There were several things that the archangel really liked and Dean being eager was one of those.

‘You’ll get more, much more,’ Gabriel told him before he bit down lightly on his earlobe.

Gabriel in front of him let Dean’s dick slip from his mouth, merely licking at the underside and mouthing on the sensitive skin, before kneeling up again to capture Dean’s mouth. He kept stroking him thought and Dean moaned into the kiss as their tongues met heatedly. The other Gabriel chose that moment to slide in a third finger, stretching the hunter further, making his hole slick and ready for more.

Dean was kissed and stroked and stretched for other torturously long moments and he was starting to reach the point where he was not ashamed to beg, when he was let go and pushed down onto the bed on his back. He opened his eyes when his head hit the pillows and for a second the sight of both Gabriels on the bed with him made him aware of the situation again, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. One of them kissed him again and Dean reached out to push his fingers in the soft gold-brown hair. The other Gabriel stroked his sides and Dean spread his legs as the hands descended. He felt as the other Gabriel, the one who was not ravishing his mouth, settled between his legs, positioning both Dean and himself. And this time he didn’t have to wait as the archangel was pushing into him a second later.

Gabriel moaned into the kiss, but Dean heard the echo of the same sound, but he just couldn’t keep track of this anymore. He just relaxed his body as Gabriel slowly filled him up with his cock. He stopped for a few moments when he finally bottomed out but then he started to pull back out just as slowly before pushing right back in. Dean would’ve pushed back into it, but he couldn’t really move in the position.

‘Gabriel… more… c’mon… harder,’ he panted when his lips were free for a few seconds. The answering sharp thrust ripped out a heavy moan from his throat. He felt as a finger traced his lips and he opened his eyes, amber ones looked back at him.

‘I want your mouth,’ this Gabriel said, he too was panting heavily and his eyes were so dark with lust like Dean never saw it before.

‘Yes,’ he nodded. ‘Anything,’ and it sounded good, he liked having Gabriel in his mouth. Liked tasting him on his tongue, liked the heavy weight and how his lips stroked the flesh while he was sucking him off and mostly he liked the sounds that escaped Gabriel whenever he did this.

They did not turn him over onto his stomach, but Gabriel straddled his shoulder, his dick hard and slick and heavy just in the right position. Dean reached up with his hand, wanting something to grab hold onto as the first Gabriel started to quicken his pace. He grabbed the ass of the Gabriel in front of him, pulling him closer causing him to grab the headboard with both hands to keep his balance and not to fall forward.

Dean licked at the base first, then licking lower his tongue teasing the soft sack, trying to reach forward and suck one of the balls into his mouth gently.

‘Oh Dean, fuck!’ Gabriel cursed; Dean didn’t know whether the other Gabriel echoed it this time again. He let it slip from his mouth and started to mouth at the length until he reached the tip and wrapped his lips around it. He didn’t have the angle to move, but he didn’t have to since the second he swallowed the head Gabriel started to move his hips, fucking his mouth.

He moaned around the hardness in his mouth when the other Gabriel grabbed his hip and angled him into the right position, so he could pound into Dean’s sweet spot with every thrust, of course the vibration made Gabriel moan too and they were both impossibly close to hold out too much longer. A hand closed around Dean’s hard dick and all three movements were completely in sync. And Dean came so hard that he almost blacked out from the white-hot pleasure exploding behind his eyelids. He clenched his muscles down and it dragged Gabriel over the edge too. Both of them came in the same time, one of them coming down his throat, the other filling him up with a few final hard thrusts into him.

Gabriel slipped from his mouth and simply just vanished in a light blue wave. But the remaining Gabriel leaned forward and captured his mouth kissing him deeply. He had both of his hands on Dean’s cheek and he kissed the corner of Dean’s mouth after ending their kiss and then his cheek and his eyebrows. He then slipped out and moved so Dean could put his legs into a more comfortable position.

‘Holy shit,’ Gabriel breathed into his neck and Dean agreed with the sentiment.

‘That was freakin’ awesome,’ Dean said, but Gabriel just mumbled something into his skin kissing him again. The archangel being the less coherent of them was a serious first. He kept stroking Dean’s chest and sides and his light kisses didn’t stop for a second.

‘You really liked that, huh?’ Dean asked.

‘Understatement,’ Gabriel replied.

‘You wanted this for a while now,’ Dean realized, because it was obvious for him that it was something the archangel really wanted to happen now.

‘You have no idea,’ the angel told him as he put a kiss on Dean’s collarbone before he leaned up on an elbow to be able to look at the hunter. Dean looked at him for a second.

‘Why didn’t you ask earlier then?’ Dean asked.

‘I just… wanted you… us to be comfortable enough before I pulled any… “inhuman” thing out of the repertoire.’ Dean looked at the angel searchingly and suddenly the events of the last days all came down on to him. It just clicked together.

‘You _were_ testing me,’ he said.

‘What?’ the angel asked.

‘You were testing my limits,’ Dean said again and surprisingly he didn’t even feel the light trace of anger, maybe he was just too blissed out. ‘The asking me to trust you, the dragging me over to the Traveler’s and now this… you…’ he stopped, it was more than that. Not just testing the waters they were beyond that, they had some pretty serious things behind them. It was Gabriel showing more of who he was. ‘This is you taking things further,’ he concluded. Gabriel shifted his eyes away and Dean caught a glimpse of nervousness in his gaze before it was schooled away.

‘I want you to know who I am,’ the archangel said then, but still looking away. ‘And I want you to still want me… after you know.’

He looked back at Dean again and the hunter couldn’t tear his eyes away from the amber ones looking at him. It was such an honest expression and he knew, better than anyone how hard it must be for the angel to open up, to lay everything out on the table and hope for the best. Dean knows how much he feared to do that always and now as he was looking at the archangel, it hit him, right in the head like a sledgehammer, like a fast train rolling him over. It caught his breath and made his chest ache, but not in a bad way and he knew, it washed over him forcefully. He loved him.

He loved him… trickster, archangel… no, Gabriel… just Gabriel.

The next second Gabriel kissed him again, held his face in his hands and kissed him deeply and slowly and didn’t let go of his lips for long moments. After they parted the archangel smiled down onto him.

‘I love you too,’ he said.

‘Wha--’ Dean’s eyes widened, but Gabriel hushed him.

‘No, I didn’t read your mind,’ he assured the hunter. ‘But remember what I told you about intense emotions reaching me through my sigil on you.’ He was smiling while he spoke and Dean smiled back and laughed after a second.

‘Okay, we had our moment,’ the hunter said a second later. ‘That was my limit, you got any food around here?’ Gabriel just grinned at him before he simply snapped his fingers.

 

End of Story Six

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[PODFIC] Mala Fide (In bad faith) by Scyllaya](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1646036) by [rippleeffect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rippleeffect/pseuds/rippleeffect)




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